New Beginnings
by Marina StormFire
Summary: Rogue feels like a liability and decides to leave, and then runs into a certain irritating Cajun. My version of "Cajun Spice". Chapters may contain songs
1. Leaving

New Beginning  
By: Marina StormFire  
X-Men: Evolution songfic

Summary: My own version of "Cajun Spice".

Disclaimer: I don't own the song or characters, which- respectively, belong to Avril Lavigne, KidsWB, and Marvel comics.

Main pairing: RoMy

Warning: May be slightly OOC-ish

Chapter 1: Leaving

_Ah, ah, ah, ah  
Ah, ah, ah, ah_

I'm giving up on everything  
Because you messed me up  
Don't know how much you  
Screwed it up

It was barely light out, and Rogue was leaning on her balcony railing, breathing in the dawn mist. Since her headache and unintentionally setting Apocalypse free, she'd been feeling like everyone had been smothering her. Always asking if she was alright or something or other; Rogue quietly scoffed in derision at the annoying antics of the other teen mutants that resided in the same mansion. She hated being taken care of and wished that there was _some_ understanding around that it wasn't her fault that she had a sucky mutation or that she was used by Mesmero to set Apocalypse free.

It didn't really take a genius to take one look at the Goth girl and find that she was unhappy. Not that said Goth girl would admit it to anyone, but it didn't change the fact that she was, indeed, unhappy. She needed to get outta here. Get out before she was smothered and it made her more irritated and annoyed. Quietly returning to her room, she got out her backpack and quietly started packing it with her clothes, extra gloves, her travel bag with her make-up, lotion, and other toiletries; a couple books, a journal, and saved up cash that she stashed in a wallet and stashed it in a pocket of her backpack. She'd figure something out when she got outta here.

Already she could hear the other students moving about and decided to make like she was gonna go to school and leave for good then. Quickly dressing in an off-shoulder purple long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans with the knees ripped out and tennis shoes, she applied her make-up, picked up her backpack, and made her way downstairs, where she snatched up an apple and made tracks out of the mansion with no one really paying attention to her, yet at the same time were wary of her every movement.

_You never listened  
That's just too bad  
Because I'm moving on  
I won't forget  
You were the one that was wrong  
I know I need to step up and be strong  
Don't patronize me  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
_

Wanting nothing more to do with any of them anymore, she made as if she were on her way to school and stopped by a coffee shop for some coffee and a croissanwich, seeing as it was a bit early to get to the school. She had yet to meet any of the others that were on their way to school.

_Have you forgotten  
Everything that I wanted  
Do you forget it now  
You never got it  
Do you get it now  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
Ah, ah, ah, ah  
Ah, ah, ah, ah_

Just as she finished her coffee and breakfast, Kurt appeared in front of her with a *bamph*. _'Speak of the devil.'_ Rogue thought to herself.  
"Rogue, are you leaving or something?" the image-induced form of Kurt asked, a concerned look on his face. Rogue closed her eyes and sighed, turning away slightly.

"Yeah… Ah maght. Ah jus' need some tahm away from the Institute for awhile," she said, and added quietly. "maybeh even Bayville. Though, Ah'm not sure if Ah'll come back or not." Shouldering her backpack, she glanced at Kurt from the corner of her eyes. She knew that he hadn't forgiven her for throwing Mystique off the cliff, just one more reason for her to leave. Feeling eyes on her, she hoped that Kurt would just leave already.

_Gotta get away  
There's no point in thinking about yesterday  
It's too late now  
It won't ever be the same  
We're so different now  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
_

Almost as if he read her mind, he nodded silently then disappeared- not giving Rogue any clue as to if he caught the end of her statement or not. Sighing with relief, she turned and found a pair of red on black eyes staring right at her.

"Gambit." It was really all she could say. But it was a statement, rather than a question. He came out of the shadows of a shadowed doorway in an alley. Looking around her, she made sure that no one she knew was around and walked into the alley.

"Ello, Chere," He said, cocky grin in place, as he leaned against the doorway of the alley. "runnin' away now, are ya?"

Rogue nodded her head. "Ah can't stay here anymore. Ah'm a liability." She told him quietly, and walked his way. "you been stalkin' meh, Swamp Rat?"

Remy chuckled and shook his head. "Non, not stalkin', Chere, jus' lookin' out f'r ya. And since y'r runnin', how 'bout Gambit take ya down t' th' Big Easy. Jus' 'til ya figure out where y'r gonna go from dere."

It didn't take long for Rogue to say 'yes', as she only nodded. "Lead the way," She said resettling her backpack. "the sooner Ah'm outta here, the betteh. Ah'm not lookin' forward to Logan havin' ta track meh down."

_Have you forgotten  
Everything that I wanted  
Do you forget it now  
You never got it  
Do you get it now  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
Ah, ah, ah, ah  
Ah, ah, ah, ah  
Gotta get away  
_

Remy motioned to follow him through the shadowed doorway. And without a backward glance toward the only home she knew, she followed. _'Dis be a little TOO easy.' _ The cajun thought to himself, as he led the way to his motorcycle, and climbed on, while handing her the extra helmet he brought along. Rogue quickly put on the helmet and climbed on behind him, resettling her backpack and wrapped her arms around his waist to hold on. "Let's go." She murmured, and felt the two-wheeled vehicle moved forward like a wild cat running.

_I know I wanna run away  
I know I wanna run away  
Run away  
If only I could run away  
If only I could run away  
Run away  
I told you what I wanted  
I told you what I wanted  
What I wanted  
But I was forgotten  
I won't be forgotten  
Never again  
_

An hour and a half later, they arrived at the train station, where they hid the motorcycle and jumped into a near-empty boxcar. Taking off her backpack, she set it down and unzipping the bottom of the bag to reveal a semi-light forest green leather jacket, and put it on, and re-zipped the bag. She sat down and leaned against the back of the boxcar- across from the open door, where she saw Gambit leaning back on the boxcar door and watching her.

Remy watched the dark and untouchable fille set down and pull out a forest green leather jacket from her backpack and put it on. "Cold, chere?" he asked, and saw her eyes flash with slight annoyance. He grinned that cocky grin. He so enjoyed riling this fille up, the way her emerald eyes would flash with her emotions.

"Not really… well…. Maybeh a little." She said, relenting a little with her honesty. Remy walked over to her and sat next to her, taking out his deck of cards and started shuffling them. Glancing at the girl he sat next to, he wondered if he ought to tell her the reason why he deliberately sought her out to bring her down to the Big Easy.

Silence reigned between the two of them for a while, until Rogue sighed and leaned her head on Gambit's shoulder. Remy glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He had started a game of solitaire a few minutes ago.

_Have you forgotten  
Everything that I wanted  
Do you forget it now  
You never got it  
Do you get it now  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
Ah, ah, ah, ah  
Ah, ah, ah, ah  
Gotta get away  
_

"Hey, Gambit?"  
Her soft southern voice cut through his thoughts, and he looked at her. Her eyes were closed and she looked to be sleeping.

"Y' okay, Chere?" he asked, as he moved a ten of spades and nine of diamonds to a king of diamonds, queen of clubs, and jack of hearts, then turned to flip a face-down card up, revealing an ace of hearts.

"Can ah ask you som'thin'? the southern belle asked, as she moved to more comfortable position with her head still on Gambit's shoulder.

"Ask away. Gambit's all ears, cherie."

"Why aren't ya afraid of meh?" Remy looked at her, pausing his game.

"Should I be, chere?" he asked, and turned back to his game- moving his King of Hearts down to a 7 of diamonds to an empty suite. He felt her move her head from his shoulder, and immediately wished she'd stayed there. It was a comfortable feeling that he'd felt when she laid her head on his shoulder. He looked at her and felt her frustration through his empathy.

"Ya don' seem ta get it, Gambit. Ah could very well _kill_ somebody with mah skin." She said, looking at him with unbridled frustration sparking in her fiery emerald-green eyes. Now Remy _really_ looked at the girl, stilling his hand from moving a four of hearts to the ace's suite.

"On'y if ya let it, Chere. One way or anot'er, ya gotta show it, who's boss."

_Have you forgotten  
Everything that I wanted  
Do you forget it now  
You never got it  
Do you get it now  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
Ah, ah, ah, ah  
Ah, ah, ah, ah  
Gotta get away_

In a very strange way, it made sense to the two-toned haired girl. Maybe it was time to show her psyches and her overall mutation who was controlling who. As that logic made itself known to her, she felt some part of her fly free. Leaning her head on his shoulder again, she closed her eyes and fell into herself to find the psyches.

"Gambit? Think ah really have a chance of controllin' mah mutation?" she asked quietly, not quite knowing if she was talking aloud or not. Remy nearly jumped at the feel of the girl's head on his shoulder again. But continued his game.

"Sure I do, Chere. Y'r gonna have control b'f'r ya know it. T'at's a promise. Jus' keep y'r head up an' y'll come t'rough."

Gambit's words were strangely comforting to the untouchable girl and let the world fade away completely to face her psyches and her worst fears. She was gonna show these psyches who was boss… even if she had to beat 'em down into submission. Resolved, she began to sort out the psyches and push each and every one of them into separate, yet somewhat strong boxes that she could go back and redesign later when all the psyches were dealt with.

But with each one that she faced, they fought back with viciousness and came across into her conscious with malignant intent and always giving her some kind of taunt that almost made her lose herself completely. The worst one was Logan's psyche. She almost lost herself then, but fought back with solid resolve and firm conviction to shove the Wolverine-psyche into its box; where thankfully, it was the last one she had to deal with. Afterwards, she fell into an exhausted sleep… for the first time in a long time… with no nightmares to haunt her dreams.__

Forgotten  
Yeah yeah yeah  
Forgotten  
Yeah yeah yeah  
Forgotten  
Yeah yeah yeah  
Forgotten  
Yeah yeah yeah

Remy watched the girl sleep, and felt his heart beat hard against his ribs. Sighing to himself, he finally made the decision to tell her the real reason why he was really taking her down to New Orleans with him. They were only about 4 hours from Louisiana by this time, so he let her sleep… and hopefully, she'd wake before the train stopped.

A/N: Bonjour, Mes amis! Lately, I've been a liiiiiittle caught up in X-Men:Evolution fanfics, and thought I'd try my hand at it. Learnin' a little French in the process. I also tried my hand at putting in the accents.

I thought it was kinda fun. ^_^

ANYWHO! Tell me what'cha thought of my first X-Men: Evolution fanfic and if I put in the accents just right.

A bientot,

~Mari-chan~

French-English Translations:

**Non-** no

**Fille-**young girl

**Bonjour, Mes Amis!-** Hello, my friends


	2. New Orleans, Louisiana

New Beginning  
By: Marina StormFire  
X-Men: Evolution songfic

Summary: My own version of "Cajun Spice".

Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING… except my ideas and a stuffed dog. ^_^;;;

* * *

Chapter 2: New Orleans, Louisiana

3 hours later, Remy couldn't wait until Rogue woke up, so he started shaking her gently awake. He was awarded with a soft moan and her clouded emerald eyes blinking open, at first confused, but then cleared with recognition. "Are we there yet?" she asked, as she looked out across the boxcar at the open doorway.

"Nearly. 'bout 'not'er hour yet." He replied, as he helped her sit up from her laid-flat place on the boxcar floor. He remained kneeling in front of her, as he watched her yawn and stretch leisurely. Her green eyes locked on his crimson.

"'S there a problem, Swamp Rat?" she asked, as she saw something in his devilish-red eyes, and then uncertainty. She saw him close his eyes and sigh.

"I'll jus' come out wit' it," he murmured, as he moved to sit next to her. "I need y'r help." That last simple statement through Rogue for a loop. It seemed to her that he was the type to kidnap and use her, not just ask her for help.

"An' what exactly do ya need _mah_ help with?" she asked, suspicion lacing her tone.

Remy knew that she'd been used too many times in the past and couldn't blame her for being suspicious; and stared out the open boxcar door and spilled what he knew. How his older _frère_ had called him and told him that his _pére_ had been kidnapped and taken as a hostage into Assassin territory and needed rescuing.

Rogue was quiet and digested the information. After what she did to Mystique… this was a chance to help another help HISparent. She sighed and looked at him. "Ah'm in. It's not like ah'm doin' anythin' important." She said, as she tucked some loose strands of two-toned hair behind her ear.

Remy grinned at that statement. It was true, she wasn't necessarily doing anything really important that would prevent her from helping him retrieve his adopted father… just running away from the people that she cared about. Her best friend, her adopted brother, and her father-figure; but he knew that she hated being coddled and protected.

The two of them fell into a companionable silence, until Rogue broke it. "Ah think, as soon as this li'l 'venture is done… Ah'm gonna look up some old friends of mahne." Hearing this statement caused Remy to look at her suddenly, feeling his heart beat loud in his ears like a drum. But quickly recovered his cajun charm.

"Ouch, chere, already plannin' on ditchin' this ol' cajun for som'on' else?" he saw her smile a genuine smile and damn was she beautiful to him just then. Here emerald-green eyes sparkled with mischief and fun, but did very little to disguise the pain that she'd endured for part of her life.

Rogue shook her head, laughing to herself. "Nope. Ah couldn't hahd from ya if ah trahed. It'd only beh wishful thinkin' on mah part if ah could ditch ya in the long-run."

Remy chuckled. She was right, she couldn't hide from him if her life depended on it. "So who's dis friend o' y'rs?" he asked, shuffling his deck absently, as the two of them watched the fast passing scenery.

"Jus' som'on' ah haven't seen ina long tahme." She replied quietly her voice sounding distant to her own ears. Remy looked at her just staring off in space.

"T'is particular som'on' a guy, by 'ny chance?" he asked and was surprised when Rogue laughed out loud, the sound music to his ears.

"Yes an' no." she said, closing her eyes at the memories, but quickly shook free of them. She looked him full in the face, as they both felt the train come to a stop. "Tell ya what though, Swamp Rat. If we both come outta this 'venture unscathed, I'll tell ya ev'rythin'."

Remy grinned and jumped out of the boxcar with Rogue not far behind him with her backpack. They were gonna need someplace to stow it while they were working on getting Jean-Luc out of Assassin Territory. "I'll hold ya ta t'at, chere." He said, motioning her to follow him until they were just on the edges of the Mardi Gras parade.

Rogue nearly stopped, and looked around her, taking in the sights and colors of the parade. Shouldering her backpack, she took a few uncertain steps forward, nearly swearing to herself that she saw some familiar faces in the crowd, but shook her head and stuck close to Gambit's side, while he went off and grabbed a Mardi Gras bead necklace for her. She gave him a small smile, and saw him give her a cocky grin. Until she saw an all-too familiar face in the crowd watching her, on the other side of the street. "Hawkeye…" she murmured, as she saw the slightly older man grin slightly and nod in her direction and lifted a hand to his shoulder pointing his thumb behind him. She nodded to him in acknowledgement and watched him disappear into the crowds.

Remy noticed her momentary hesitancy, and when he grabbed a necklace of Mardi Gras beads for her- felt his heart jump into his throat when he saw her smile. It was a small smile, but it was still a genuine smile. But then he saw her stare behind him, and saw a slightly older man with dark hair and bangs that hung into his… yellow eyes with slitted pupils? That couldn't be right, not unless the guy was a mutant. "Friend o' y'rs, chere?" he asked, putting an arm around her shoulders, and turning them up the street, when he saw him point his thumb behind him and then disappear.

"Yeah. Someone that knows someone who knows how ah can _possibly_ control mah mutation; Ah ain't gonna set mahself up to beh used ag'in." She said, enunciating the 'possibly' and cautiously glanced up to gauge the older teen's reaction.

Remy whistled his admiration. "Y' mus' know some people 'n high places, chere. Remy's 'mpressed." To his surprise, he saw her shrug her shoulders, but caught a grin on her face.

"Eh, here an' there, Swamp Rat. Don' beh too surprised though. Ah don' have THAHT many surprises 'n store."

There was silence between them as they just walked along the street. Just as Remy was going to break it, Rogue beat him to it. "Ah always loved Mardi Gras. No mattah who ya are, ya fit in." he nodded in agreement. _'Think it's time t' show ma chere a little trick o' th' trade.'_ He thought to himself, and saw a horrendously costumed man pass by. Bumping into him, snatched his wallet.

"First time I've been ou' here wit'out workin'." He replied, and smirked at her confused expression. His smirk only widened when she asked, "Workin' at what?" and he held up the shanghai'd wallet. "Gettin' by."

Scowling, Rogue snatched the wallet from him and ran back to the man, saying, "Sir! Here, ya dropped y'r wallet!" and quickly made her way back to Remy.

All of sudden, between the two of them, their stomachs growled in hunger, and Remy glanced down at the younger girl. "Y' hungry, chere?" he asked, as he guided her to a what appeared to be a jazz club. Rogue could smell something delicious emanating from the building. "T'at club ov'r there, I hear, serves de bes' jambalaya in de French Quarter."

"Oh yeah, ah could eat." She said, as he led her inside. Both glanced around and found an empty table that they could see the entrance from, in case they ran into their expected visitors- the Assassins. They both ordered jambalaya and sweet tea each. After their orders arrived , they started small talk, taking turns asking questions and getting answers.

"Ah almost forgot how much ah reallah miss these kahnds o' places." The southern Belle said in a wistful tone, as she looked around the club. Remy nodded, grinning slightly.

"Not'in' quite like 'em up North." There was a momentary silence between the two, before Rogue spoke again.

"So," Rogue began, after taking a sip of her sweet tea. "ah'd been meanin' ta ask, what's with y'r cards? Is it a fetish or somethin'?"

Remy shook his head and swallowed his food. "Non, no' a fetish. T'ink o' it dis way: 's like havin' 52 li'l explosives a' 'n one li'l pocket." He flipped a card out of his coat sleeve. "I always save her for last."

Rogue took a glance at it and raised an eyebrow. "The Queen of Hearts?"

Kissing the card, he smirked at his rather cynical companion. "My lucky lady. She's gotten dis ol' t'ief outta a whole lotta jams."

"Looks like ah need a deck o' those." She said, giving him a rather sultry look. Remy chuckled, and asked his next question. "Wha' 'bout y'self, Rogue? Who was dat 'cross da street, da guy with yellow eyes and slit-pupils?"

Rogue had just taken a hearty bite of her jambalaya, when the former acolyte asked about the mystery man. Swallowing, she gave her dinner companion a mysterious grin. "He's mah eye in th' sky, if ya will. He'll probably go an' let th' others know ah'm in town an' ah'll probably get grilled f'r not keepin' in contact with 'em." She said, hinting at her mysterious past before Mystique. "Mah turn, Swamp Rat. Have ya always been a thief?"

Remy almost cringed. Almost. "Oh… dat. It sorta runs in da _famille_." Giving an absent wave of his hand, like he was telling her to drop the subject. Rogue wrinkled her nose and pressed on.

"Yah mean lahke y'r father?" and knew that she'd hit a rather sensitive nerve, when she heard him scoff and look away.

"If y' c'n call 'im dat." He said, and scanned the club for the Assassins. "he… nev'r really…" he searched for the right word to describe Jean-Luc. "_acted_ as a real _pére_ would. Basically jus' usin' me-"

"F'r y'r pahwers?" Rogue finished, and saw his red on black eyes flash with what looked like anger and resentment. She nodded her head in acknowledgement of the feeling. "Mystique did th' same thang ta meh too. Ah guess we c'n put ourselv's in th' same boat, huh?"

Remy nodded, he knew that the two of them were similar, just not HOW similar. All of a sudden, the two of them heard the entrance door bang open and roughly 6 or 7 Assassins enter, counting their leader. "Julian!" he exclaimed, as he and Rogue both stood up from their seats.

Julian Bourdreaux was a tall broad-shouldered, light-brown haired man, with chiseled features… and would've been handsome if not for the hardness in his dark eyes. He smirked when he saw the Prince of Thieves. "Well, well, well, if it t'ain't _Le Diable Blanc_," he said, taking out his bo staff. "this saves meh from havin' ta hunt'cha down and skin y' alive."

At that last part, two of the assassins grabbed Remy and Rogue from behind. "Hey! Get y'r slahmy h'nds offa meh!" Rogue snapped, when she was grabbed from behind.

Remy's thoughts went by 100 miles a second when he heard Rogue snap at the assassin that grabbed her. Catching her eye, he gave a slight nod and as one, threw their captors over their shoulders; Rogue's captor flying into Julian. He quickly brought out his own bo staff and seeing another assassin behind him, spun neatly around and tripped him up. He noticed that Julian was getting back up to his feet in something of a daze, when Rogue came up and took his bo staff. "Can ah borrow this?"

It happened quickly, and Remy wasn't really sure if he blinked or not, but somehow, he ended up seeing Julian flying right out the club's closed doors. Smirking at the downed and crumpled form of the Prince of Assassins, he mused to himself, as he leaned against the doorway. _'Now dere's som't'in' y' don' really see ev'ry day.'_

Rogue came up beside him and handed his bo staff back. "Thanks." She said, as she saw another familiar face, she silently motioned that she had a bag of belongings in the club. She got a hand-signed message back that it would be taken care of and they'd see her soon. Nodding, she kept her eye on Julian.

"Anytime, chere." And watched her move away warily. Apparently, having forgotten they weren't quite out of danger yet, Remy found himself tackled from behind and pinned down, until Rogue turned and gave the Assassin a flying kick to knock him off the temporarily pinned-down thief. Getting up, he backed up and glanced at a nearby parking meter. Smirking, he charged it and suddenly it started spitting out coins at the two oncoming Assassins.

Once more, thinking he had his triumph in the bag- it was short-lived. Again, he found himself rammed from behind and slammed up against a wall. Turning to his assailant, it was none other than Julian. But just when it looked like it was lights out for the cocky cajun, Julian suddenly went down like a pile of bricks with a goofy look on his face. _'Y'r gettin' sloppy, LeBeau.'_ The Prince of Thieves thought to himself when he saw that Rogue was behind Julian and had apparently touched him to knock him out.

Rogue dealt with the Assassin that had had Remy pinned down, she turned to find that the dumb cajun had gotten himself pinned against a wall by the one that he had called "Julian" and was about to get his lights punched out. Taking off a glove, she came up behind him and touched the bare skin at the back of his neck, trying to prepare herself for the barrage of memories that she was sure to get. She pulled away quickly, feeling dazed and not quite herself. She tried to shake herself of the feeling, barely seeing straight, until she saw Remy in front of her. She nodded to him and tugged her glove back on.

Taking his cue, he grabbed the Mardi Gras beads from around Rogue's neck and charged them, snapping, and throwing them at a couple of oncoming Assassins that had previously been defeated and knocked down. "Time t' go!"

The two of them made a break for it for a couple blocks and turned a corner, and slowed to a walk- hoping that if they had any tails, they'd lost them somewhere. Turning into a nearby alley, Remy leaned Rogue against the wall and shielded her from the street view. At her questioning look, he shook his head, and murmured to her quietly, "Don' look now, but it looks like de x-_hommes_ decided t' come afta ya. They be jus' behind me. Keep walkin' down de alley, we should come out de otha end o' de block."

Rogue nodded her head and calming her heartbeat, started walking, completely aware that Gambit had followed closely behind her and had now draped an arm over her shoulder. "Ah know where they got y'r fahther." She suddenly said, as they approached the end of the alley.

Remy nearly stopped, but continued on. "Where?" he asked, as he drew her closer to him, but not too close that he'd accidentally touch her skin.

"Blood Moon Bayou. But y'll nevah get passed their sensors and watah mahnes. So ah'm goin' with ya."

"Y'r sure, Cherie? Y' don' have t'. Remy c'n manage-" but was cut off, when Rogue shook her head.

"Gambit, ah had a chance ta do som'thin' lahke this b'f're, and ah didn't. Ah have a chance ta do it now." She said, her voice laced with regret and what sounded all too close to desperation. She hoped that Gambit, no Remy, understood why she had to help him.

Remy sighed and hoped that they both got out of this alive. "Alright. Le's get a move on den. Don' wanna lose any mo'e time than we already have."

She nodded. And the two of them made their out toward the bayous.

* * *

A/N: Bonjour, Mes Amis! I do hope everyone has enjoyed the story so far. And jus' so everyone knows, there may be a sequel story to this one- revealing Rogue's past. So I sincerely hope that everyone stays with the story and bears with. ^_^

Don't forget to R&R so I know what you guys an' gals are thinkin'. ^_-

A bientot!

~Mari-Chan~

Did a little bit of editing and adding-to, when I realized there were some things that I missed putting in.


	3. Meeting BackUp

New Beginning  
By: Marina StormFire  
X-Men: Evolution songfic

Summary: My own version of "Cajun Spice".

Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING… except my ideas and OCs. So sue me if ya think I'm a liar. :-P

* * *

Chapter 3: Meeting Back-Up

It was only a simple matter of getting a couple boats- a motorboat and an inflatable, and not too much longer after acquiring both, did they set off through Blood Moon Bayou- hoping that the x-men wouldn't track them to the Assassin's headquarters. The two young mutants were silent as they went through the bayous, occasionally breaking the silence with small talk.

"So, think you can tell Gambit a li'l 'bout y'r _'eye in the sky'_, chere." Remy asked, and saw the two-toned haired girl glance over her shoulder at him with an eyebrow raised… almost as if she were asking, _'are you serious?'_ He gave her a smooth grin, and saw her close her emerald eyes and sigh.

"Hawkeye. He's a mutant friend of mahne. He always looked after meh and watched mah back. We should prob'ly look forward to some back up when we get up t' th' Assassin's HQ. If Ah'm rahte, then the others prob'ly already know 'bout y'r fahther bein' held captive by the Assassins and seein' meh in town and helpin' ya out, they're gonna wanna help out too."

_I cannot find a way to describe it  
It's there inside; all I do is hide  
I wish that it would just go away  
What would you do, you do, if you knew  
What would you do  
_

Remy raised an eyebrow. "An' jus' how do y' know t'at?" he asked, skeptical. No one knew Thieves' Guild business, except the thieves. Anyone who stuck their nose into Thieves' Guild business could guarantee that they weren't going to live for very long.

Rogue didn't get a change to answer his answer, when she got a flash of memory seeing a water mine just up ahead. "Uh, veer to the rahght."

"Very nice." He complimented, as he took out some confetti and giving them a minor charge- enough to see through the murky bayou waters to see the water mine they were passing.

_All the pain I thought I knew  
All my thoughts lead back to you  
Back to what was never said  
Back and forth inside my head  
I can't handle this confusion  
I'm unable; come and take me away  
_

Rogue went back to Gambit's unanswered question. "Hawkeye is part of an underground informant group," she said, after another few minutes of silence. "the informants know ev'rythin' tha' goes on in any given majah city. Here, they prob'ly know ev'rythin' tha' goes on in y'r Thieves' Guild."

He was silent as he dodged the water mines that Rogue forewarned ahead of time. He never thought that an underground informant group would know anything. _'Jus' goes t' show t'at we don' know ev'ryt'in' t'ere is t' know.'_ The cajun thought to himself, wondering how The Rogue knew about these particular informants. "How'd' y' know 'bout t'ese informants?"

Rogue shook her head, as she saw another memory, leading to the Assassin's manor not much further ahead. "Can't answer tha' one at the moment, Swamp Rat. We're almost there." She pointed just ahead of them. "Head for those roots, it's th' only safe way. But they've got lookouts, so we gotta beh careful."

The cajun teen only grinned. "'S alright, chere. T'is boat's only a decoy," Pointing his thumb behind him at the inflatable boat attached to the motorboat. "we gotta get 'n de other in a couple seconds."

_I feel like I am all alone  
All by myself I need to get around it  
My words are cold, I don't want them to hurt you  
If I show you, I don't think you'd understand  
Cause no one understands  
_

Soon the mansion from the memory came into view. Remy signaled that she was to get ready to move real fast, then just as suddenly, he got up and jumped into the attached inflatable, and motioned for her to get in quickly. Rogue nearly tripped on the motorboat bench, but managed to grab his hand so that he could help her into the inflatable and cut them loose from the motorboat and pushed it further ahead of them.

And just as sudden, as soon as the vacated boat was in view of the lookouts, there was an explosion mere feet in front of them. Remy looked over his shoulder at Rogue, who looked like she was about to have a heart attack; and grinned at her. "Close call, non?"

Rogue could only nod, as she tried to get her heart rate back to normal. They silently passed the blown wreckage of the motorboat and came up to the docks, quietly making their way up to the mansion. Ducking behind a large oak, Rogue heard the telltale rustle of a bird landing and rustling its feathers, just as she got a flash of memory once more, showing a security camera in the oak that they had taken shelter. Glancing up, she realized that she didn't really have anything to worry about- for there in the tree was the security camera… which was disabled- was the man that she had identified as "Hawkeye."

Grinning up at him, she turned and tapped Gambit on the shoulder and she pointed up. Gambit's jaw looked to drop to the ground, before he managed to grin wickedly.

_All the pain I thought I knew  
All my thoughts lead back to you  
Back to what was never said  
Back and forth inside my head  
I can't handle this confusion  
I'm unable; come and take me away  
_

"Anybody call for backup?" the mystery man asked as he dropped lightly to the ground beside the two of them. Rogue grinned and threw her arms around his neck. "Hawkeye. Where th' hell've ya been?"

Hawkeye smiled and wrapped his arms around the younger girl that he considered his younger sister in several years passed. "Ugh, here an' dere, Kiddo," he pulled back and looked down at her. "De Dragons're gonna have a fit when they get wind tha' y'r in town. I've already notified a few key playas f'r t'night's li'l excursion."

Remy was stunned. This guy _KNEW_ Rogue? Questions were starting to pop up, but were stopped when Rogue asked, "Okay, so who all is our back-up? Gambit an' I are th' only one's supposed to go in, grab his fahther, an' get out." The cajun listened.

"Y've got Hazard, Marina, Shifter, an' Windy as y'r backup," Hawkeye said as he handed Rogue a comm. "Try not t' make too much o' a ruckus though. Hate for dis t' turn real ugly. Got it, Rogue?"

"We'll trah not ta. But no guarantees," she said, grinning, as she took off her jacket to hand to Hawkeye for safe-keeping. And then pointing to her earpiece that was her comm., she went on, "Three taps says tha' we need a li'l help gettin' out." And just before she turned to face the mansion, she stopped. "Oh, behf're ah fo'get, think ya c'n do som'thin' 'bout th' x-men? Keep 'em off our trail?"

Hawkeye nodded and cocked his head at Gambit. "_Bonne chance_, Gambit. Watch her back, _oui_?"

Remy nodded and before his eyes saw that the older man had shifted to a black hawk and was flying off, fading off into the shadows of the trees. After a moment of making sure that the coast was clear and walking right up to the mansion's side door. He opened the door and turned to Rogue. "I'm gonna look forward t' a li'l chat wit' y' later, chere. Til then, t'ink y' c'n stan' guard for a few? I'd like t' t'ink I c'n get in an' out, wit' 'im- th'n if I've got som'on' t' watch my back too."

Rogue hesitated, then nodded. "Eight minutes, Gambit. If y'r not out bahy then, ah'm comin' in aftah ya."

_I'm going nowhere (on and on and)  
I'm getting nowhere (on and on and on)  
Take me away  
I'm going nowhere (on and off and off and on)  
(and off and on)  
_

Remy gave her a wicked grin and took her gloved hand and kissed the back of it. "In eight minutes then." And disappeared into the manor, leaving Rogue with butterflies in her stomach and wondering what that would've felt like if she could actually touch skin-to-sin. Her comm came to life.

"_Head outta th' gutter, Girlfriend! Yes, a couple o' us out here t'ink he's a very cute, very hunky man, but focus o' th' present circumstances, please."_

Rogue grinned. "Thank ya fo' th' wake up call, Marina, got anothah ta share?"

"_Zip it, both o' ya,"_ a male voice broke in, sounding exasperated. _"c'n th' two o' ya work tagethah jus' ONCE, instead o' fightin' each othah?"_

"Don' make a bet on it, Hazard. Ya know tha' Marina an' ah will possibly nevah beh able ta talk civilly in polite company. But we'll still watch each othah's backs." Rogue said, as she suddenly heard movement behind her. Quietly, she moved to the corner of the manor and peeked around the corner- she saw an Assassin coming her way and took off a glove. _'Tahme ta do this.'_ She thought to herself, as she hurled herself around the corner to take the Assassin by surprise and touched his face momentarily and broke contact. She sorted through the memories of the Assassin and found a layout of the mansion and checked her watch. _'5 minutes passed and 3 ta go.'_ She thought to herself, and went back to the open door that Remy had gone through.

/Meanwhile with Remy/

He was pretty sure that he could trust Rogue and whoever she associated herself with. But meeting the one she called "Hawkeye", it seemed to him that she was talking in code. But focusing on his current job at the moment was to get Jean-Luc out as safely as possible. Checking the kitchen, he found no one there, but grabbed an empty beer can and continued on to where he believed Jean-Luc to be held captive. Coming up to a corner he cautiously peeked around the corner and found two Assassins, guarding the door. Charging the beer can, he tossed it their way- effectively knocking them out. _'De Assassins are gettin' a li'l bit lax 'round 'ere.'_ He thought to himself as he opened the door and saw his adopted father, Jean-Luc, tied to a chair.

"Remy? What're ya doin' here?"

Walking up to the tied up Leader of the Thieves' Guild, Remy held up a hand. "I've been askin' mysel' dat same question." He said, as he bent down over Jean-Luc's shoulder to charge the rope binds and then moved to charge the binds that tied his legs to the chair.

"Y' actually came back… I t'ought y' walked 'way f'om dis life f'r good." Jean-Luc said, sounding like he was dazed, and taking off the remnants of the ropes from his wrists and ankles.

_All the pain I thought I knew  
All my thoughts lead back to you  
Back to what was never said  
Back and forth inside my head  
I can't handle this confusion  
I'm unable; come and take me away  
_

"I did. 'm jus' 'ere f'r y'." he replied, feeling slightly agitated, even as he walked toward the door, he was pretty sure someone was sure to have heard the explosion that knocked out the two guards at the door of Jean-Luc's 'prison'.

"Afta ev'ryt'in' I put y' t'rough." Came the amused? reply. It only served to agitate Remy more than he was already. He wanted to get and get out… NOW! But something was up. Jean-Luc was stalling for some reason. A reason that Remy was sure that he wouldn't like.

"Don't get any ideas," he snapped, his agitation getting the better of him slightly. "Nothin's changed b'tween us. Now le's go!" Rogue had only given him 8 minutes to get outta here with Jean-Lluc in tow, 8 minutes was sure to come and go, and they would both be French toast.

"Wait!"

"What now?" Anytime now, the Assassins were sure to come and shoot the both of them full of holes and where his _chere_ be? Runnin' for her life—literally.

Jean-Luc walked up to Remy cautiously. "We in de heart of de Ripper's stronghold. Do y' have 'ny idea what kind o' opportunity dis is?"

_'Oh really. Tell me som't'in' I don' know.'_ The teen cajun thought to himself, agitated. "F'rget it. We're outta time, _pére_." He quickly motioned for Jean-Luc to follow him to the door.

"Remy! Listen t' m'," the older man pleaded. "le's raid dis place… do some REAL damage. We can ruin de _famille_." Remy leaned on the doorway, almost torn between wanting to make his adopted father proud and getting him to safety. And even Rogue was a factor that tipped the scale.

"Y' don' need m' f'r dat." He told the older man from over his shoulder. And felt Jean-Luc's hand on his shoulder, in what he believed the older man thought was a comforting gesture.

"_Non_," he said, his voice frank and blunt. "but I do need y'r pow'rs."

'_M' pow'rs… t'at's what it all comes down t'. Dat's all I 'm t' y'—a tool.'_ Remy sighed. "I was right. Nothin's changed." Was all that came out his mouth. _'Come or stay, but Remy ain't helpin' y' t'is time.'_ He thought, as he wondered where Rogue was… it was surely passed eight minutes for her to come in after him and his father. He headed out the door and didn't seem to care whether his father followed or not, but was only vaguely aware of the steps behind him that confirmed that Jean-Luc had decided to follow.

_Take me away  
Take me away  
Take me away  
_

All of a sudden, Remy stopped in his tracks—stopped by the two people that he did NOT want to deal with at the moment, that had –apparently- come into view out of nowhere.

* * *

A/N: Bonjour, Mes amis! Jus' so's everyone knows, the songs don't necessarily have anythin' ta do with the story. They _may_ have something to do with Rogue's particular moods or something…

But please stay for the remainder of the story. ^_^

A bientot!

~Mari-Chan~

[Did a bit of minor editing and such to make things make sense.]


	4. Rescue

New Beginning  
By: Marina StormFire  
X-Men: Evolution songfic

Summary: My own version of "Cajun Spice".

Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING… So sue me if you believe me to be a liar. .;;;

* * *

Chapter 4: Rescue

Marius Bourdreaux and his son, Julian barred Remy and Jean-Luc's way out. "Well, well, well. It must be Father-Son Day." The balding blonde man said, as he stood in the doorway, his son with a bazooka on his shoulder. And if it weren't for the little detail that Julian looked a little too trigger-happy, Remy figured that he and Jean-Luc could take them both on single-handedly each with little to no problems.

"Get back in dere!" Marius ordered, even as Julien was getting ready to fire. But when as they were focused on the problem in front of them, they had both forgotten to watch their own backs

'_C'mon, Rogue. Where are y', fille?'_ Remy wondered, wondering how he and his adopted father were going to fight through them. As it turned out, he needn't have worried, because all of a sudden, both father and son fell to the ground unconscious.

"Need a li'l hand, Swamp Rat?" the Southern Belle asked, much to Remy's relief.

"Was wonderin' when y'd show, _chere_." The cajun answered smoothly, as he watched her pull her gloves back on, and head back down the hall.

Just as they got to the end of the hall, gunfire came at the three of them, and they were forced to stay down against the walls.

_I held onto you for as long as I could but today  
You fell away  
Now what I hold are the memories we barely made  
I stood on the edge of your bridge until I felt the rain  
Wash me away  
My confusion left me fast as the vertigo came  
_

After the allotted time was up, Rogue made her way inside and found her way blocked by two men- who had their backs to her. The shorter of the two ordering someone to "Get back in dere!"

She took off both her gloves and touched the back of the men's head, which afterwards, they were out like a couple of blown lights. Holding her pale hands out in front of her, she asked, "Need a li'l hand, Swamp Rat?"

Rogue was only slightly agitated when she saw that cajun's mouth tip into a smirk, and those smooth words escape his mouth, even as she turned to walk back the way she came down the hall. "Was wonderin' when y'd show, chere."

"Let's go." Was all she said, and was only vaguely aware hearing Jean-Luc asking in an incredulous tone of voice, "She do all dat wit' da touch o' a finger?" and Remy's reply of "F'rget it!" and the two men following her down to the end of the hall when the shots started raining down on them when they reached the end of the hall. Jean-Luc behind Rogue, and Remy flattened himself against the opposite wall across from them.

Rogue had pulled on both gloves and pulled up a memory of the layout of the house, looking for an exit. Finding one that led from a hallway adjacent to their own positions on the other side of the hall, she shot up, saying: "This way!" Quickly tapping her comm three times, hoping that their back-up would help ease the way out.

_What I believed to be true it was only a dream  
Believed in me  
I just projected it over your beautiful screen  
I self medicated my way through this mess that we made  
So I could stay  
There was nothing, but I waited  
I waited  
_

Remy couldn't believe that he missed the hallway that would lead out. _'Now y'r really starting to slip up, LeBeau.'_ He thought, as he heard Jean-Luc ask, "How she know?" Looking at his adopted father, he only said:

"Trust me, she knows." And swiftly followed her with Jean-Luc right on his heels. They followed Rogue down another hallway, where there were some windows that some debris from the outside was whipping up against due to the gust of wind blowing.

Right ahead, was the exit that they were gonna take, but were stopped by two Assassins guarding the door. When all of sudden, that part of the manor was torn apart and the Assassins were blown away and discarded off to the side. Rogue had fallen back, and Gambit had stepped forward to brace her, when above them a young woman with short dark blue hair and green eyes hovered above them. "Go, Rogue!"

Jean-Luc looked incredulously up at the young woman above them. "Dat _fille_ controls de weather?"

Rogue spared a glance back at him. "Nope, jus' th' wind. Let's move!" and tried to make a run for the docks, but was stopped when just overhead they were fired on. They remained where they were when they heard a thud and a snarl, and then an anthropo-morphed voice said, "I'll take this." And they proceeded to hear the startled yelp of a man and the clatter of a weapon being thrown to the concrete. Risking a backward glance at the two men slightly behind her, she made a beeline straight for the docks—acutely aware that both Remy and Jean-Luc were right behind her, plasma blasts firing at them from the roof of the Ripper's stronghold, until it abruptly stopped.

The wooden balcony on which the Assassin's stood was broken from below, where only a lone slightly muscled man stood with what looked like a giant boomerang in hand and attached it to his back before jumping over the wreckage that he brought down and making a run for another motorboat.

_This was my mistake  
Broken are plans we made  
So I will be traveling any place  
Cuz anywhere's better than  
Here we rest in peace  
Rubble beneath the feet  
_

As soon as the man got into the hidden boat, a redhead girl moved their boat out, a black hawk flying just overhead to meet up with Rogue's boat that Gambit was operating.

The three of them didn't spare a glance at the wrecked balcony behind them as they quickly jumped into the spare motorboat, with Jean-Luc on the tail end, as he untied their 'borrowed' boat. "Hold on, _chere_. Dis 's gonna be a ride." He saw her nod from the corner of his eye. As he started the motor, he glanced at her again, and though it looked like she was afraid, his empathy told him that she was having the time of her life—literally laughing at the thrill of the adrenaline rush on the inside. He could almost see the vague curl of her mouth tip up in a small smile. Mentally giving himself a slap, he concentrated on getting the three of them out of there. They were joined by another boat that- one glance at Rogue told him that they were their backup. And not far behind them were three boats of Assassins, one of which was a fully recovered Julian—who looked as furious as a bull that has a red flag waved in front of them.

He drove the motorboat efficiently through the maze that was the bayou, and heard Rogue say loudly, "They're followin' us!" and when she turned front again, her face had fear written all over it. "Watch out!"

Narrowly avoiding the water mine, one of the three boats of pursuers wasn't so lucky and hit the mine. With two boats of Assassins still on their tail end, Gambit let loose a barrage of charged cards which seemed to miss their target completely.

Rogue turned to the boat next to them and hollered over the noise of the motorboat. "HAZARD!" and pointed back at their pursuers. She saw him give a wicked grin and detaching the giant boomerang from his back, let it fly at several overhanging branches that didn't hit their pursuers, but manage to land in front of them—literally teaching the two Assassins in the boat, a flying lesson.

_I shouldn't have followed you anywhere  
Cuz anywhere's better than here  
_

The loss of his fellow Assassin's didn't seem to faze Julian at all, as he sped passed them, firing his bazooka at them. It didn't hit the boat that Remy, Rogue, and Jean-Luc were in, but it did hit the one that Hazard and the redhead were in. Though just before the two of them hit the water, the redhead girl had a palm out flat and hummed; and a platform of water caught them and carried them to the roots of a cypress tree.

Julian and Remy dodged several water mines so far; as Julian fired several more –missed- shots at them, until Julian's patience ended and he came up beside them and rammed into their boat's side, causing it to capsize—spilling the three of them, Remy, Rogue, and Jean-Luc into the murky swamp waters.

The struggle to hold on to something was futile, as Remy and his two companions were spilled into the bayou waters. He was relieved to see Jean-Luc climbing ashore, but when he glanced at Rogue, his heart nearly stopped. There were two gators heading her way, and knew that she had no chance to escape them… until he saw an enormous shadow over them and saw what appeared to be an eagle swoop down and grasp Rogue's outstretched arms as she grasped the dangerous talons. He couldn't afford to watch what would become of her, until he could save his own skin.

Julian was circling around Remy like a shark before going in for the kill. Gambit caught a break, when Julian ventured too close, and managed to charge the boat. The Prince of Assassin's jumped before the boat exploded.

Windy came in and created a minor funnel or sorts around the Assassin and sent it back toward the wreckage of the Assassin's headquarters, while Marina created a small whirlpool that would help Remy get to shore.

_Where is the space I could move, where could I rest my head  
There's nothing left for me here  
It's hard to leave behind  
The one thing that made me feel alive  
So I slide  
From paranoid to paradise  
_

Just then a pair of legs appeared in front of Remy, and when said cajun looked up, it was into a pair of golden-yellow slit-pupiled eyes. "Need a hand, Gambit?"

Remy smiled slightly, and gratefully took up Hawkeye's hand, as the other mutant pulled him up to his feet. When he looked at who all was there, he saw 4 unfamiliar faces—the fifth being Hawkeye. He was relieved to see Rogue was alive and well, as well as Jean-Luc.

As Rogue approached Remy, she was glad that he was alright. After Hawkeye had swooped down to rescue her from the gators, she had watched as Julian had almost or very nearly run him over with the boat, but watched as Gambit had charged to boat and watched it explode when it hit a boulder and exploded. She saw Windy make up the funnel and whisk the Prince of Assassin's back to his torn-down and wrecked 'castle', while Marina made up the small whirlpool to help the Prince of Thieves back to shore.

"Y' okay?" she asked, as the mutant with the boomerang on his back put her jacket over her shoulders, when she saw Hawkeye help Gambit to his feet on the banks of the swamp.

Remy fixed his red-on-black eyes on Rogue's bright emerald green, as he wrung out the water in his trench coat. "_Oui._ Could be better t'ough." He replied huskily, feeling like his throat was parched. He felt her indecisiveness on what to do next, and wondered if she would stay in town for a little while.

Rogue gave herself a mental shake from her indecisiveness, and looked him straight in the eyes. "If we c'n talk somewhere private, we c'n get down ta tha' li'l chit-chat tha' ah promised ya earlier."

_This was my mistake  
Broken are plans we made  
So I will be traveling any place  
Cuz anywhere's better than here  
_

Remy nodded. "Y' got a place t' stay at, _chere_?" he asked, and nearly smacked himself in the head, when he found himself being stared at by the majority of the assembled back-up from that night's excursion. "Nev'r min' tha' question. T'was pretty stupid t' ask."

He was met by quiet chuckles from the older man with the boomerang on his back and felt Rogue tug on his hand. "Didn' get a chance to introduce ya to our back-up earlier," she said, and pointed to each one as she introduced them. "Th' one wit' th' Boomerang is Hazard. Blue hair ovah there is Windy. Marina is the redhead. Shiftah is…" she trailed off looking around for the one that she was going to introduce him to, until she looked behind Remy. "behind you." Was all she could say.

Remy turned and found an nineteen-foot gator smack dab right behind his legs, which made him jump backwards towards Rogue and her companions—making them laugh out loud. He heard Rogue sigh out loud. "Shiftah, ah swear, one o' these days, somebody's gonna come along and shoot ya full o' holes f'r ya hide. An' nobody's gonna save ya then."

It fascinated Remy to see this particular gator shift to a human form, which had bright hazel-amber eyes that had slitted pupils. Shifter's human form was of a lanky, yet muscular and strong build. His shoulders not quite filled out, but he appeared to by Remy's own height, his face sported a crooked grin, under a narrow nose and beside high cheekbones. The shifting mutant looked to be about Remy's own age or thereabouts.

"Aww, c'mon, Rogue, jus' havin' a bit o' fun." Came the playful/pitiful whine from the mutant. Remy heard Rogue scoff and looked like she wanted to cuff the shifter for his comment.

"Yeah rahgt."

_[Instrumental]  
_

Turning back around to finish the introductions, she pulled her arms through her jacket. "An this," she finished, nodding in Hawkeye's direction. "is Hawkeye. The _'eye-in-the-sky.'_"

"_Plaisir de vous rencontrer tous_." Remy replied, giving them a relaxed grin to his ever-present pokerface.

Hawkeye nodded his head, as well as the others who gave their own greetings. Glancing down his watch, he noticed the time. "We gotta be goin' pretty soon. Will ya be in town f'r a bit, Rogue?"

Rogue looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "I'm gonna have t' beh in town f'r a bit, Hawk. Ya guys got mah pack. Can' reallah go anywhere wit'out it."

Chuckling, he gave her hug, which she reciprocated, hugging him as tight as she could before pulling back. "If the old safehouse in town is good t' go, I'll stay there, an' anyone tha' wants t' see meh, c'n look meh up there. For now, I'll head in wit' th' Swamp Rat an' his fahther, f'r now—tha' is, if there are no objections on their part."

_This was my mistake  
Broken are plans we made  
Here we rest in peace  
Rubble beneath the feet  
I shouldn't have followed you anywhere  
Cuz anywhere's better than here_

Glancing at them over Rogue's head, he saw both Gambit and Jean-Luc—who had been surprisingly quiet during the introductions, exchange a glance and a nod. "I don' think i's gon' be a problem, is it, gentlemen?"

Gambit turned to the rest of them and shook his head. "She's mor' den welcome t' stay at de T'ieve's Guild manor, 'til she c'n get to wherever she needs t' get to." Glancing at everyone, he saw them nod to each other—apparently agreeing with arrangements.

"We'd better get, befo' them Assassins decide t' turn th' lot o' us inta gator-bait." The girl with blue hair—identified as Windy, said, as she watched the sky darken. It was pretty late and it was guaranteed to be a long day after the following morning.

With a collective nod everyone started the long walk back to the Heart of New Orleans for a good night's rest. Explanations could wait 'til the following day.

* * *

A/N: Bonjour, Mes amis! How is everybody? I FINALLY updated the last chapter of this part of the story and I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. I am working on the details of a possible sequel to New Beginnings, that starrs Rogue's past and whether or not she returns to the Institute.

So if you have any ideas that you'd like me to use, go ahead and send in a review or PM me, whichever you feel comfortable with, and I will see if I can incorporate it within the story.

French-English Translations:  
_Fille_- girl  
_Plaisir de vous rencontrer tous_- Pleasure to meet all of you

Look for the sequel, "New Life" that's comin' soon! ^_^


End file.
